1950 Ford car slip yoke exposure

[Don T]

This car did not come with a driveshaft, I "found" one and installed it and now am wondering if it is too short. The pic shows I have about 1-3/4" of the yoke barrel out of the transmission tailpiece, should the yoke be deeper into the tailpiece? This pic was taken with the car weight on the axles. All new motor and trans mounts as well as new rear suspension bushings. All the other parts of the engine, trans, diff are original to the car. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[cadillac512]

Generally a good practice is to push the yoke into the trans until it bottoms,then pull back out 3/4"-1" with suspension at ride height. 3/4" has worked well for me.
Terry

 

[Don T]

Thanks; so you are telling me you think the driveshaft is too short? This car is 100% assembled and driving when pic was taken. Appreciate your help.

 

[cadillac512]

Yes, a bit short. Doesn't mean it won't work...may wear the bushing in the tail housing sooner than it should and you'll notice a vibration when that happens. If you're not putting a lot of miles on the car it may run a long time. I generally drive mine a lot so I'd fix it.

 

[MMB]

The bushing is 1.5 inches long and sits .60 in from the end of the casting so armed with the length of your slip yoke you should be able to determine if it currently extends sufficiently.

 

[Don T]

The math works such that the yoke is past the inside of the bushing about 1/4"; probably enough to work. I think the driveshaft I have is about 3/4" too short (perhaps was on a station wagon according to ford parts manual) and I do not like the leverage it has on the tail-shaft bushing. The other part of the problem is the yoke barrel (2 yokes from 2 reliable suppliers, one at 1.488" and the other at 1.491" measured with a micrometer) are a much smaller diameter than the Ford spec of 1.498". Even the original measured 1.496" with the rust sanded off. So I should find a Ford yoke within spec or use the Chebby powerglide yoke (shorter barrel than the Ford yoke) and find a longer driveshaft. In any event I thank you guys for your thoughts on this!